Michael Prostějovský: A life in musicals

This time out the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra will deliver a wonderful gift to all lovers and admirers of musicals, with leading interpreters, the PRSO’s musicians and conductor Libor Pešek set to perform songs from international and Czech shows. One could describe it as a special concert for a special occasion. We learned more from journalist, poet, lyricist and librettist Michael Prostějovský.

The splendid line-up is coming together in connection with 25 years of the radio show Muzikál expres [Musical Express]. Over the years it has brought (or delivered) listeners lots of interesting information and wonderful music. What has that period given you personally?

Muzikál expres brought me back to the radio microphone at Czech Radio, where I started out as a young trainee in 1966. Work at Deutschlandfunk in Germany had been more in a team, but in the Czech Republic I was a “soloist” once again, a scriptwriter and presenter in one. On the other hand, I am grateful for the fact that during all my years in Germany I got to know the world musicals scene rather well. Muzikál expres has literally forced me to remain in close contact with it.

What interpreters have you invited to perform at the Smetana Hall?

They’re by and large actors and singers with whom I have worked personally or whose recordings have been played very often on our programme. The star of the evening will definitely be Bára Basiková, with whom I have had a “Jesus Christ Superstar” connection for over 20 years. Also there will be Dasha, Jan Kříž, members or guests of the National Theatre Moravia-Silesia in Ostrava, Hana Fialová, Martina Šnytová, Katarína Hasprová, Tomáš Savka, Lukáš Adam and Ondřej Bábor. I hope my former student Jakub Hübner will be a pleasant surprise, and also Patrik Vyskočil, who literally bowled me over as the first Slovak performer of the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar. The participation of conductor Libor Pešek and the virtuosos Václav Hudeček and Jan Simon is a great honour.

Would you like to continue with similar activities in the future? Do concert venues suit musicals?


I would like to attend a concert version of a big musical sometime. It’s done quite often on the international scene. With a big symphony orchestra on stage and top-class interpreters and a large chorus, musicals acquire incredible energy and a slightly different dimension from a show. You don’t have to adhere strictly to the laws of theatre and you can give the musical side the maximum room.

What can we expect from you in the field of musical theatre in the near future?

The same week that the fantastic concert takes place at the Municipal House, the classic musical Anything Goes with my Czech libretto will have its Czech premiere at the J.K. Tyl Theatre in Pilsen. It’s a famous Cole Porter title from the 1930s, a zany comedy with extraordinarily wonderful songs set on a cruise ship travelling from America to England. At my “domestic” National Theatre Moravia-Silesia in Ostrava we’re preparing a new production of Jesus Christ Superstar for Easter 2016, this time with a new generation in the main roles. It’s an enormous challenge. I have commissions for three more Czech librettos for fantastic foreign musicals that have yet to have Czech premieres and have two other original projects underway. That’s right, in my old age I’m still spending my youth with musicals…